Introducing Experiments in Unattended Rollercoaster Tycoon (EiURCT)

Recently, I bought the very first Rollercoaster Tycoon (with the Corkscrew Follies and Loopy Landscapes expansions) on Steam after seeing GraphiteHelix playing it one weekend on his laptop. This is going to be the first in potentially many experiments in leaving a game of Rollercoaster Tycoon running without any player input. I’m personally going to expect the following with these experiments:

The best-case scenario–which will probably include properly zoned handymen, a handful of mechanics, and possibly appropriately timed inspection settings for all rides–will probably lead to a slight decrease in park attendants, a small decrease in profits and park/company value, and possibly a slightly decreased park rating.

The worst-case scenario–which will most likely not include any of the above for the best-case scenario, and will probably be expected on parks that are pre-made e.g. Diamond Heights or Alton Towers–will probably lead to a dramatic decrease in park attendants, a massive decrease in profits, park/company value, and possibly even bankruptcy, and a massive dip in park rating.

Of course, the other thing that needs to be factored in these experiments is the amount of time the game is running unattended; this can range from as little as an hour (i.e. a lunch break’s worth) to a quarter of a day (i.e. when I’m sleeping) to maybe even half of an entire day (i.e. an entire day at school, or even a weekend at GraphiteHelix’s place). I’ll be starting one of these experiments very soon, so keep an eye out on this blog for the first exhibit of Experiments in Unattended Rollercoaster Tycoon(´・ω・｀)